A Parisian Christmas Past
by MissJayne
Summary: Gibbs wakes up to his worst nightmare - Jenny's sister sitting on the end of his bed.  Somewhere between Lily's sugar rush and Jenny's refusal to get up, his day isn't getting any better...  Set back in the day; Jibbs, Lily.


_A/N: I've had a certain image in my head for a few years now, but have only recently been able to put it into a story. Which mysteriously turned Christmas-y, after a fashion. Blame my missing muse._

_Set back in the day in Europe, with a disturbingly cheerful Lily running around._

**A Parisian Christmas Past**

Despite what everyone believed, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not a fan of early mornings.

Sure, he could roll out of bed and appear vaguely presentable, work a case or three, go for a run. And mornings were quiet and peaceful, before the rest of the world woke up, when he could get things done easily. But overall, he preferred to lie in bed and do nothing.

Most of the time, he couldn't just decide to have a lie in. He had a team he was responsible for. Now he was in Europe with his partner, he had to watch her ass (in more ways than one). There were bad guys trying to kill them and good guys trying to kill them, and most days he was too busy trying to stay alive to tell the difference.

Today was different. Christmas Day. Jenny had managed to find a safe house (he didn't like to ask how) in Paris where they could relax for a few days and catch up on sleep (and other pursuits).

He didn't celebrate Christmas any more, not since Shannon and Kelly. He couldn't see the need to celebrate in such a manner. Christmas was for families and happiness, and he had neither. Although perhaps with Jenny this year…

He stretched languidly in bed, wondering whether it was worth opening his eyes yet and seeing if Santa had bought anything (rather more _what_ than _if_ judging by the small package Jenny had been attempting to conceal for the past few days). Hmm, decisions decisions. Go back to sleep, wake Jenny up, let Jenny sleep and drink coffee…

Too awake to fall back asleep so easily, he opened his eyes instead.

And promptly closed them again.

His partner was sitting on the end of the bed.

He opened his eyes again and was met with the same sight. His redheaded partner sitting cross-legged on the end of their double bed, smirking.

In case he was hallucinating, he closed his eyes. Jenny was supposed to be right next to him, asleep. In fact he knew his redhead was asleep because he could feel her warmth and her bare skin. Under the covers, he reached out a finger and poked her.

Definitely someone next to him.

He opened his eyes to confirm Jenny was really next to him and he hadn't forgotten going out, getting blind drunk and bringing back another random redhead to the bed he shared with Jenny. He was pretty sure he hadn't, judging by the smirk on the other redhead's face – Jenny would have killed him by now if he had.

He poked Jenny, and he was pretty sure it was Jenny, once more to confirm his suspicions, before glaring at the newcomer who was still sitting patiently on the end of the bed. She-devil. She hadn't stopped grinning.

"Lily," he began, his voice rough with sleep, "what are you doing here?"

If it were possible, her smirk grew wider. "Wishing you a merry Christmas?"

He glared at her, the effect somewhat ruined by his state of undress and the thin cover which only just covered certain parts he didn't want Jenny's sister to see. "Let me re-phrase. What the _hell_ are you doing here."

Jenny's doppelganger giggled. "_Well_, I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd pop in to see my sister on such a festive day. You know, since I can't hop on a plane and see my husband this year." A shadow flickered across her face, so fast he almost missed it. Maybe Lily wasn't pure mischief then. Maybe she had feelings too, somewhere.

He understood the feeling. Spending Christmas on tour away from Shannon and Kelly had been unbearably painful. He had wanted to see their faces on Christmas morning, wanted to share in their delight and cheer. Instead, he had been stuck in a small room with his fellow Marines who were all feeling the same.

Lily had only mentioned her husband in passing, and Jenny hadn't talked much about him either. _A Marine_, Lily had teased her sister once, _not an ex-marine._ He didn't want to pry, content with his gut feeling that Lily loved the guy and didn't want to bring him into the world she operated in, full of danger, deceit and death. Even talking about him while in the field was bringing him too close to her job.

His musings were disrupted by Jenny stirring. He lay still, hoping she would settle. Apparently Lily didn't agree. "JL!" she practically screamed.

Jenny mumbled something under her breath that Gibbs hoped was either an insult, a death threat or both.

"No, I will not go away." Perhaps Lily could interpret sleepy!Jenny then. He would have to ask for a crash course. Preferably when Lily wasn't in the mood to kick his ass.

Jenny muttered something else, burying her head under a pillow.

"Don't be silly," Lily grinned. "It's zero five hundred. I haven't even gone to bed yet. I was tempted to borrow a gun and attempt to assassinate Santa again, but Brian almost had a heart attack last year when he saw me on the roof with a M89SR and made me promise not to do it again."

Gibbs blinked. "You been playing with the Duvdevan?"

Jenny grumbled.

"Oh, relax, I didn't _kill_ any of them to get the gun," Lily answered her sister, ignoring Gibbs completely. "The Israelis tend to get pissed when I wander through. Or rather they _did_, until I told them where they could find someone they wanted just a little badly."

"This can't get any worse," Gibbs mumbled. His lover wouldn't wake up properly, her sister was rambling on and on and wasn't making any sense, and his body had apparently decided seeing a version of Jenny, any version of Jenny, was enough of a prelude to those other pursuits.

"Things can _always _get worse," Lily promised, finally paying him some attention again. "JL, it's Christmas morning and I want to open presents." She sounded like a small child for a moment and Gibbs felt an enormous wave of pity for her parents. Lily must have been an impossible child.

Jenny mumbled something completely incomprehensible with a possible curse at the end.

"I have not overdosed on sugar," Lily solemnly intoned. "There is no chance… unless you count the cookies I had on the way here. And the crepes – do you have any idea how amazing they are with sugar? To die for. And the pain au chocolat I found in your kitchen. Oops, that was your sugar stash, wasn't it?"

Jenny pulled the pillow more firmly over her head.

"Stop being boring," Lily demanded. This time, the redhead decided to illustrate her frustration by pulling the covers off the bed. Or, more accurately, pulling the covers clean off Gibbs' side of the bed; Jenny was cocooned in the covers and Lily's actions were somewhat thwarted.

"Hey!" Gibbs made a swipe at the covers and only caught an end because Lily was trying to figure out a way to remove her sister from said covers without dropping her on the floor. He was thankful Lily was temporarily distracted; she had enough ammunition on him as it was without seeing him naked (and interested).

"Prude," Lily shot at him without taking her eyes off her puzzle. Maybe the sugar was slowing her down? "It's not like I haven't seen a naked man before. Actually, it would be truly bizarre if I hadn't, seeing as I'm married and all that."

Lily nodded her head as though she'd come to some kind of conclusion (Gibbs dreaded to ask – or worse, find out), and gave the covers a quick, experimental tug. Jenny responded by kicking out, sending her sister flying off the back of the bed with an undignified yelp.

Gibbs laughed; he couldn't help it. There was something about seeing his nemesis disappear to land on her back on the floor –

"Are you laughing at my sister?" Oops. Jenny was awake at long last, and it seemed teasing Lily was strictly off the menu.

He snatched part of the covers and pulled a corner over his lap, not worried about what Jenny could see (since she'd already seen it and enjoyed the view), but definitely concerned about what Lily would do to certain sensitive parts of his anatomy once she picked herself off the floor. "No," he lied. "Never."

She glared at him suspiciously, completely adorable while half-asleep and confused. Lily picked this moment to reappear, grumbling and rubbing her arm.

"There are presents under the tree and you two are acting all soppy," she complained. "Presents are far more important."

"Go call your husband," Jenny ordered, more awake now. "It's after midnight in DC, right?"

"He's not in DC," Lily pouted. "I haven't got a direct phone line."

Jenny turned away from Gibbs to stare at her sister. "You're resourceful; find a way to talk to him. Downstairs."

Lily perked up, nodding her head and disappearing out of the door.

"Now," Jenny began, turning her attention back to Gibbs. "Where were we? Christmas Day, you, me and a bed…"

"And your sister," Gibbs helpfully reminded her, slightly nervous about Lily suddenly reappearing.

"Who will be occupied for the next hour with calling in every favour, threatening a few people and finally talking to her husband."

Gibbs grinned. No Lily for a whole hour. "I wonder what we can do to pass the time."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Jenny teased.


End file.
